The next meeting of the Student Engagement Staff Network (SESN) will take place on Thursday 12th February 2026 – online via MS Teams, from 10.00am until 12noon.
The network is aimed at staff in universities and colleges with student engagement and academic representation development roles.
New process for attendance
Based on feedback from network members, we are trialling a new process for our regular online SESN meetings. Attendees were previously required to register for each individual meeting; Instead, to streamline the process, calendar appointments will now be sent to all those signed up to our SESN Jiscmail list and members will be asked to accept/decline to confirm whether they plan to attend each meeting.
It is important that you respond to each calendar invite so that we know how many people plan to attend. An invite for the February meeting will follow shortly to all those on the Jiscmail list – please accept or decline as requested. If you do not receive the calendar invite, please get in touch.
New members wishing to join SESN can sign up to the SESN Jiscmail mailing list to be kept in the loop and to receive the calendar appointments for forthcoming meetings.
As well as receiving comms and appointments from sparqs, the Jiscmail mailing list can be used by all its subscribers to send emails to the whole group to continue conversations and peer learning outside of the SESN meetings. Which means if you’ve got a particular question, or are looking for examples, you can get in touch with all members of the group.
The agenda for February will be circulated closer to the date and will reflect current developments in student engagement. We would like to get your thoughts on what you would like to learn/discuss/explore at SESN. Please complete this short questionnaire to tell us your ideas:
See the agenda and materials from the October meeting and the November meeting to see what was covered.
We are always keen to learn more about what practices you implement in your role and institution, so if you would like to share examples of student engagement activities, best practice, or suggest other topics for SESN meetings, please let us know by emailing Amy Monks, Development Consultant at amy.monks@sparqs.ac.uk.
Annual joint in-person meeting in May
As in previous years, the last SESN of the academic year will be held in person, as a joint event with colleagues from the National Education Officers’ Network (NEON) and sparqs Tertiary Advisory Group (STAG). The joint meeting will take place on Tuesday 12th May 2026 at QMU, from 10.00am-3.00pm. As this is an in-person event, registration will be required for practical purposes. Registrations will be invited nearer the time so watch this space for further details.
SESN is a great way to keep in touch with colleagues working in similar roles in other Scottish institutions and students’ associations, and also to discuss latest updates from the sector, so make sure to sign up and keep yourself in the loop!
Queries
For any further information, please get in touch with Amy Monks, Development Consultant - amy.monks@sparqs.ac.uk.